Lucerne Valley man denies child sex charges

Monday

Jul 7, 2014 at 3:59 PMJul 7, 2014 at 4:07 PM

Shea Johnson Staff Writer @DP_Shea

VICTORVILLE — Four days after his arrest in Oregon, a Lucerne Valley man back in California on Monday pleaded not guilty to six felony child sex charges, court records show.Kenneth Block, 56, is accused of two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child; sex or sodomy with a child under 10 years old; aggravated sexual assault of a minor by force; lewd or lascivious acts with a child; and oral copulation with a minor under 14 years old with at least a 10-year age difference between the victim and suspect.The crimes date back to Jan. 1, 2007, according to court records. It was unknown Monday how the alleged victims and Block may have been related. A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request seeking more information.Block was arrested July 3 by sheriff’s officials who traveled to the Douglas County Jail in Oregon, where Block had been in custody since June 19, according to jail records and Oregon Inquirer. He is due to return to court next Tuesday for a pre-preliminary hearing, and was in custody Monday at the High Desert Detention Center in lieu of $1 million bail, jail records show.Shea Johnson may be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.